Chelsea seek clear the air talks with referee chief Riley after Clattenburg debacle

Chelsea will hold talks with referees’ chief Mike Riley as part of a reconciliation attempt with Mark Clattenburg.

Although
they will stop short of a formal apology for accusing him of calling
John Mikel Obi ‘a monkey’, they do want to clear the air.

Returning to action: Chelsea will say they are happy to have Mark Clattenburg back to referee after the race row with John Mikel Obi (below left) was dimissed

They will also tell Riley, head of
the Professional Game Match Officials Board, that they are happy for
Clattenburg to officiate Chelsea games after he was cleared by the FA of
saying ‘Shut up you monkey’ to Mikel on October 28.

Riley has made it clear Clattenburg will be involved in officiating future Blues matches.

Mikel has been charged with improper
conduct following his dressing-room confrontation with Clattenburg after
Chelsea’s 3-2 home defeat by Manchester United.

Mikel has admitted the charge and could get a lengthy ban as Sportsmail understands part of the charge relates to his use of threatening language towards the referee.

Alan Leighton, national secretary of
the referees’ union Prospect, has said they did not intend to take legal
action against Chelsea, but the club should feel morally obliged to
make amends via an apology and compensation.

‘This is about an individual who has
been badly wronged and there is not even recognition about what they
have done and that is staggering,’ Leighton said.

Clattenburg will return to action as
fourth official for Tottenham’s home game with West Ham tomorrow. He
will referee Southampton’s clash with Norwich on Wednesday.

His return has been welcomed by
Premier League managers including Aston Villa’s Paul Lambert. ‘Quite
rightly the guy’s been acquitted. It’s been a mess,’ he said.

Sources close to Clattenburg say he just wants to put the nightmare behind him and continue with his career.

Sitting out: Clattenburg has not taken charge of a game since the match against Manchester United last month